The Kitchen Island

Two posts in two days! Ya'll I'm feeling a little crazy over here! Hehe. Yesterday I posted the home improvement list and I wanted to take the time to share a couple of little things that we have already done to improve on our living space! We bought a mobile island and the handy hubby put it together! I'm kinda really excited to finally have an island. Having a functional work space in your kitchen is crucial to cooking effectively. If you have ever lived in apartments, you know that they are never effective use of space. In our last apartment the kitchen was coupled with the laundry room, so our hamper was constantly in the way of either the fridge or the the pantry. It was so frustrating. Having an open concept kitchen is nice, but we needed something to be able to make it function better and also more storage space.

Initially I wanted this island (this post is not sponsored by Wayfair) because of the closed cabinet storage and the knife rack in the island. But when I went to order it, the price went up about $60. Boo, of course the price is back down now. So I went perusing and I found the one we actually purchased. It has open storage in the middle so we can't put anything breakable in there because of small fingers, but I thought that it looked very similar to our existing cabinets and the hardware, even though its similar, can be changed out to match. I also like the look of the "butcher block" counter top. I'm considering tying that color wood with these shelves from Ikea on the dining room wall.

Please excuse the mess! Where still moving. Baxton Studio Meryland Modern Kitchen Cart from Wayfair.

Another thing we took on was replacing the lighting in the kitchen. The can lights are new, but I just couldn't understand why when they were on why it felt so HOT in there. Last weekend the hubby pulled a bulb out to see and low and behold Halogen bulbs. No wonder. Halogen bulbs are more cost effective than incandescent but they are twice as hot! UGH! Off to the home improvement store we went to buy some LED bulbs for our cans. Of course they only had one in a Par 30 size so we went with compact fluorescent instead. Then I had the discussion with the hubby about color temperatures. All the existing bulbs in the house are a soft warm light....similar to an incandescent bulb. I hate that pink glow that it casts so I asked him which kind of light he preferred. Soft warm, or a daylight. The smart man chose daylight, I knew I married him for his brains, and off we went with new 5000K CFL bulbs. I don't have a great comparison shot but here's a photo when we bought the house:

See the pink cast that is all over the cabinets and floor? Warm (2700K) bulbs. And I mean warm in both the literal and visual sense. When we installed the new bulbs, it was instantly cooler and just felt better.

Problem is now, that PINK paint! That's next on the to do list! What little home improvements can you all suggest for a big impact?

The Inevitable House List

With an older home comes an inevitable list of improvements that need to be done. I know I went over things that needed to be done in our last post, but the hubby keeps adding things to do, so I figured I would put together a list that we could add to and I could reference back and link up if I actually do a DIY or room tour post! So here's what were thinking, and remember that this is a dream list also:

Front Exterior/Entry:

• Replace Front Door
• Replace Door Handle & add deadbolt
• Replace Exterior lighting
• Add a flagpole
• Update planters and walkway 

Dining Room:

• Re-paint walls
• Replace light bulbs in ceiling fan and entry light
• New sideboard
• New rug
• Update blinds
• Provide storage for entry

Kitchen:

• Re-paint walls
• Update backspash
• Add shelf over window
• New window curtains/valance 
• Remove French doors and move into the play room, frame out opening
• Update glides on cabinet drawers
• Hook up waterline to refrigerator
• Build mobile island 
• Remove existing phone jack and patch
• Update lighting/bulbs (existing are halogen and its ridiculously hot)

Playroom:

• Re-paint walls
• Update slider/add French doors
• Update window
• Update lighting and add additional lighting
• Provide new storage cabinets
• Update sprinkler system pad

Living Room:

• Re-paint walls
• Add down lights
• Check wood burning stove for functionality
• Add Built-in storage
• Add wainscot or picture rail
• Add blinds to slider
• Possibly convert slider to French doors

Emma's/Guest Bath:

• Re-Paint walls
• Update exhaust fan
• Re-paint cabinet
• Replace medicine cabinet
• Install new toilet paper holder
• Update glides on cabinet drawers

Office/Guest Bedroom:

• Re-paint walls
• New desk layout
• New Twin bed with storage

Emma's Room:

• Re-paint walls
• Finish decorating
• Add another hanging rail and more closet organization

Master Bedroom:

• Re-Paint walls
• Re-organize closet storage
• Add additional down lights
• Possibly convert slider to French doors

Master Bath:

• Re-paint walls
• Re-do closet storage
• Update glides on cabinet drawers
• Replace medicine cabinet
• Replace pocket door, new hardware
• Install towel rod and toilet paper holder
• Install shelving in toilet room
• Replace window

Backyard (The big dream):

• Re-do planters
• Level ground
• Seed for grass
• Re-paint decking
• Create pergola's over all exterior doors
• Add overhead hanging bulb lights
• Built in BBQ
• Swingset
• Dog house
• Sand and refinish existing benches

This is the dream list. By no means do we think that all this will happen, but I forsee the DIY stuff coming along nicely. But first, finish unpacking!

We took a little break!

Hi all! It's been a little while since I've updated the blog and there's been lots of good reasons! No I'm not preggers. We had a whirlwind July and August and really I have just been trying to work through it all. The hubby lost two family members between Father's Day and 4th of July so we had grief and funerals to deal with. It was rough and trying to stay positive was all I could do for him. Losing family is always hard, especially when they are so young.

Right in the middle of all of this we had some happy news! We bought a home! It's been so surreal and I feel like we are now #adulting! It's so silly. We have a baby and have lived on our own for 8 years and have been married for 8 years, but until you sock in cold hard cash on a piece of land and a little property you don't really feel like an adult! We are so excited for our little 3 bed, 2 bath on a 1/4 acre! Land in CA is sparse so when you have a decent amount for your kiddos and pets you scream and jump for joy!

Do I have some plans. Mostly for the landscaping! (Please excuse the photo's a lot are from the listing)

The front yard had sod recently laid and in the main photo it looks bad, however it has greened up nicely. The rock garden next to the bridge needs to be cleaned out and re-established because its pretty over grown. The planter next to the house needs ground cover because its mostly just a dirt pile that washes into the front doorway. The trees along the roof line were trimmed because the roof needed a little repair, so that was already done! Yay!

In the backyard.....oy! It needs help. We have beautiful pine trees and they give lots of shade, but they also have left lots of droppings in the yard and over the deck. First off is sweeping and clearing out of oddities, IE the random fire hydrant, pole for nothing, parking curb in the yard. The gate needs repair because our pooch already figured out how to escape the yard. Sigh. Next up, see the large rock pile in the 3rd photo? That's going to be our new flowerbed liners along the back retaining wall. Leveling of the yard and grass seed. Cleaning out existing planters and sanding and painting the benches is on the list also. We also see a swing and maybe built in bbq later. Dreams.

The main living area has been updated. New paint and carpet. I will definitely be re-painting! It's so pink with grey carpet! WHAT!?! The wood trim around the fireplace will be removed and a large mantle will replace it. Maybe some wainscoting. Maybe a built in? We shall see what the future holds.

Kitchen and dining. The owner replaced the counters, fixtures and lighting so for right now all that we are doing in here is the backsplash and of course painting out the pink. The backsplash doesn't match AT ALL! They also cut into the existing beadboard so that may have to be replaced. We shall see. We are also planning to put a decor shelf over the sink in the kitchen and some drapes.

Master and guest bath. They were updated finish wise, but we need to replace the exhaust fans and I plan on tiling behind the mirror in the master and putting a framed one up in its place.

And finally this room off the kitchen is going to be so fun! This is Emma's future play room! I already have plans to make it a vintage inspired kids room because of all the things she has that are new, but vintage inspired but don't fit the theme of her bedroom.

There she is. What has been occupying our minds and time for the last 6 weeks. I'll do another post on packing and moving with a toddler because UGH! It was interesting! Happy Tuesday!